


Come Home

by Squintern



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, M/M, Pre-Slash, Voicemail
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-06
Updated: 2016-02-06
Packaged: 2018-05-18 15:53:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5934118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squintern/pseuds/Squintern
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I’ll be home before you know it, darling."</p>
<p>Or: an over-seas romance through phone calls.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Come Home

_Arthur, darling, do try to make it home in one piece._

He’s on a job in Vienna. Eames calls him “darling” sometimes for his own amusement and Arthur has never let it bother him, he’s been doing it almost as long as they’re known each other, after all. He’s not sure what exactly Eames considers “home” seeing as he was born in London but hasn’t been back in the UK for years now, but Arthur would have to assume that he means stateside. They’re working a job together in Charleston in a few weeks. Eames had been calling with an update on the team they were working with when he signed off with that particular sentiment. Arthur does indeed make it stateside in one piece, but he is missing a few bits.

 

_Eames, I swear to God, if you’re not home in three days, I’ll hunt you down and saw off your balls with a butter knife._

Eames always sort of assumed Arthur wasn’t one to mince words. He had seemed, when the first met, like the kind of man who never wasted a single word. He discovered how wrong he was the first time he heard Arthur menace someone (“Threaten, Mr. Eames, I threatened him. I menace people with guns, I threaten them with words.”). It’s a bit fun for him to get those treats turned on to him because as dangerous as Arthur is, Eames knows he’ll never go through with it. Still, he does make every attempt to get to Toronto in three days as Arthur would never forgive him for being late to the job they’re working there.

 

_Arthur, darling, could you be a love and pick up something from my flat in Hong Kong before you come home?_

Arthur doesn’t bother asking Eames where his apartment in Hong Kong is located, though it does frustrate him a bit that Eames knows he knows. Arthur likes to imagine he’s not very transparent about his feelings, but them Eames has always been good at seeing through people. It’s with the grudging realization that he’d do anything for the man that Arthur leaves Singapore and calls Eames to see what he needs in Hong Kong before booking his flight to Denver where they’re supposed to meet to discuss an upcoming job Cobb wants them on.

 

_Eames, I thought you said you would be home in a week._

Eames is trying, desperately, really, to get to Portland where Arthur is waiting. The job went a bit south the moment he arrived in Istanbul and he’s still recovering from a pretty serious injury. Normally, he would just fly out without a care in the world about the knife wound in his gut, but he still has to lay low and travelling isn’t the best idea. He almost does anyway, though, because he misses Arthur something terrible and he would really like to be back in Arthur’s quiet little flat right now and not halfway across the globe.

 

_Arthur, darling, I know you hate the flat here in Mombasa, but please come home if you would._

Arthur wishes he got the message sooner. He has a plane back to the US leaving in the morning and already has plans with old colleagues out there. They’ve been missing each other recently, haven’t seen each other in almost six months, in fact. Eames is always there while Arthur is here, then Arthur goes there and Eames is over here. They’re out of step and it doesn’t sit well with Arthur. Eames is right, he hates the flat in Mombasa (he must have been very drunk when Eames talked him into that one), but he almost misses Eames enough to brave the sweltering African heat to stay with him for even a few good days. Well, not almost, absolutely more like.

 

_Eames, if you’re still alive, I’m going to send the Russians after you and they will drag you home by your hair._

Eames is indeed alive, thanks much for the confidence, Arthur. He knows he’s in deep, though. This is the third anniversary he’s missed and Arthur is having none of it. Eames had been the one, after all, to insist that, even if they went for the entire year without seeing each other for more than a day at the time when they happened to pass through the same city, they would spend their anniversary together. So far, Arthur has held up his end of the deal, patiently waiting in their flat in Paris, then Moscow, now Hong Kong. It’s Eames who never makes it in time. It’s becoming a bit of a problem and he’s more than a little worried Arthur is at his breaking point. He has a decent excuse this time, but somehow he thinks Arthur isn’t in the mood to hear it.

 

_Arthur, darling, please…just come home._

Arthur is through. He’s done. Eames can traipse around the globe as much as he pleases, because Arthur is through. Eames can beg and plead all he wants, but Arthur knows that in the end he’ll be left the same way: alone in one of their apartments with only a handful of texts saying Eames can’t make it back. He can tell from the background noise that Eames is in Dubai. He had gotten that apartment when they’d split; it’s located right above an open-air market so the sounds of haggling give away Eames’ location. Arthur won’t admit to listening to the message over and over in the bed they used to share in Paris and he definitely won’t admit to the lump in his throat at every replay.

 

_Eames…you need to come home._

It’s the tone of Arthur’s voice that has Eames booking the first flight to LA he can find. The last time he heard that tone was when he and Arthur had run into each other in Krakow and Arthur had looked him gravely in the eye and told him to stop calling right before they had fallen back into bed together.  It’s a brittle tone, sharp like glass and precariously close to breaking at every syllable. He and Arthur aren’t supposed to see each other for another two weeks, he’d been counting down the days. They both have jobs that need finishing. But that single message has Eames abandoning his work in a heartbeat because something terrible has just happened.

 

_Arthur, darling, I’ll be in Johannesburg next week if you’d like to stop home for a spell._

It takes all Arthur has not to break down. Eames sounds defeated. He sounds the way Arthur felt when Eames had left him waiting one too many times. Only this time around, Eames is waiting. But he knows Arthur has a good reason to not be there, and that’s just the problem. They haven’t seen each other since Mal… since she passed. Arthur misses Eames, a lot. He needs him, and Arthur has made it a point in his life to never need anyone. But he needs Eames. He and Cobb will be in Tokyo next week, though. Johannesburg is too far out of the way, even for how much Arthur misses Eames.

 

_Eames, I’m planning on heading back to Manhattan when we finish up here, please say you can come home for a bit._

They’ve been here before: Eames in Mombasa and Arthur heading stateside. There’s a distinct feeling of déjà vu, even though it’s Arthur begging Eames to come home this time. Eames knows they just finished up a job in Tokyo and, if rumors are to be believed, it was a bit of a shit show. Arthur will be looking to take a break. The last time they managed to catch each other was in Milan, months ago, when Arthur had driven four hours out of the way to spend one hour in a hotel room with Eames before driving back. Eames needs to see Arthur again.

 

_Arthur, darling, your rules about splitting up after jobs are asinine so stop being such a stick in the mud and come home._

Arthur has never been more willing to break his own rules than at this moment. He doesn’t even mind that Eames flew straight back to Africa after the job, he’ll spend as many sweaty nights as Eames wants in Mombasa if it means they can be together again. The inception was a roaring success and Arthur needs to celebrate. He lays low for a couple more days though – mostly to make sure the inception took and Fischer is none the wiser, but also a bit out of spite – before booking his flight to Mombasa and back to Eames.

 

_Eames, come back home, this is a bad idea and you know it._

Eames isn’t taking this job to spite Arthur. He isn’t taking it for the money, God knows they don’t need that. He isn’t even taking it because he actually thinks it’s a good idea. It’s really most certainly not. He’s taking this job because he owes Johnny a favor and now of all times is when he’s decided to call it in, probably because he knows this job will be a shit storm from the get. He knows Arthur will be all scowly and angry when he does get back to Quebec, but he understands honor and responsibility and that call was mostly just on principle because Eames did explain why he was doing this about twenty times just that morning. Arthur is just being his usual uptight self.

 

_Arthur, darling, do try to make it home in one piece._

Arthur has heard this one before but it’s different, so different. The first time, Eames had been joking, playing around, the laughter in his voice real. This time, the lightness is forced and the unseen smile is tight and fake. Eames is worried and, frankly, so it Arthur. This job is nothing that Arthur hasn’t done before, but there’s something that’s making him look over his shoulder every minute and it’s unsettling. Eames must have heard rumors. Arthur would be lying if he said he was sure he would make it home even in two pieces.

 

_Eames, if I’m not home by tomorrow just know I lo—_

The message cuts off so abruptly it leaves Eames dizzy. He knows what this is. This is desperation and panic and uncensored fear. Arthur doesn’t do desperation, panic, or uncensored fear. Not ever. Still, he refuses to believe it could be true.

 

_Arthur, darling, this isn’t funny anymore, come home._

 

_Arthur, darling, please come home, you’re scaring me._

 

_Arthur…Darling…_

 

 

 

_Arthur, darling, you’ve no idea how much I wish you could be here right now. Philly is all grown up, she’s a woman all right. And James, God, he looks so much like his mother. Ari’s a real architect, too. She gave up dream share all on her own, finished her schooling. You’d be so proud of her. She just designed a new skyscraper for, you’d love this, R. Fischer Enterprises. Yusuf said he’s finally been getting natural dreams again. Never thought it possible, but I guess if you make it out of this business alive anything is possible. I suppose you know Saito’s your way, too. Wherever you are, I’d like to think you two are having tea like you used to, probably laughing at me like you used to, too. I sold the flat in Mombasa, you’ll be happy to know. I’m thinking of just tucking down in Camon and living it out there. It’s nice and quiet. I found that tie you were looking for, by the way, the navy one with that texture you were fond of. It was in Dubai. I was just there clearing out our things, thought I’d give up that one next. You never liked hot climates, but – no matter what you say – I know you liked that market below our window. … That’s all for now, darling, not too much else to tell. Once you square all your debts and get all the prices taken off your head life gets pretty damn quiet. Who knew? Anyway, I’ll let you go. I’ll be home before you know it, darling._

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I killed of Eames in the last one, so I figured I should make it an even set and kill Arthur this time.


End file.
